Just my thoughts on packs and EA

So... I've been reading a lot of comments (complaining) on a lot of different sites and my gears are grinding.

If you owned EA, and you had millions of people who would buy additional content to enhance a game that they like to play, wouldn't you?

Personally, I think they're brilliant. Some people hated TS3 store because you were paying exorbitant amounts of money for pieces here and there in what they used to bundle in one SP for TS2. So they went back to the model that worked, but increased the frequency.
I can choose whether I purchase it or not. They are just making it available to the people who want it.

Sorry... rant over.

Yes, they are going to make a lot of money off TS4. But I love this game. I think they are really trying to make this the best game of the franchise. It started shaky but they are listening to us and trying to give us what we want.

I've always been a live mode player. TS4 opened me up to build mode like never before and I'm enjoying different types of game play more as well. Is it perfect? No. But I'm kinda proud of them. It's a game... and it's entertaining.

I believe that EA is a business. I believe that they like money, just like most humans. And I believe in supporting a game that I will play nonstop for a good 5 years, most likely more because I still love Sims 3 and sometimes even Sims 2.

Some of these comments can be frustrating, but it's better to pay them no mind.

Thing is, EA really is releasing a lot of content. That's nothing new. We've had monthly set releases since the Sims 3 Store started picking up speed. And they were a lot more costly than what we get now. But the Store was easier to ignore than full-blown official releases. And the new Stuff Packs are official releases. And that is where the problem starts for many people.

These packs are dangling right infront of everyone's nose and understandably a lot of people will want to have them. But not everyone can or wants to pay that much money. And that can make someone angry.

It's not EA's fault if someone doesn't have the means to afford that many packs and EA does not force anyone to buy that many packs. EA is a business. They want to make money. They have to make money. That is the only reason why they or every other business exist. Thus, they will release as much content as they can, because the Sims franchise offers itself perfectly for such a release schedule.
From our perspective as customers, speaking objectively, that is really good. Because they offer us a wide variety of different content. We are supposed to pick and choose the content we want.
That is a perfect situation for players who want all packs and can afford all packs.
It is also a perfect situation for those players who are content with only choosing and buy the content they want most.
BUT if you are a player who would like to have everything, but doesn't want to pay for everything, this model gets frustrating. And frustration can easily lead to anger. Of course, it's ridiculous to demand that EA stops releasing so much content. It's like telling the computer industry to stop developing faster technology because you can't afford a better PC.
But the anger is there and this is the Internet where asking to remain calm is asking too much. EA are the most logical target to be angry about, since you would obviously not be angry about yourself and your own wishes, so people will direct their anger towards them.

And that's all that is to those angry comments and rants.
Of course, it's no secret that EA employed terrible business practices in the past to maximize their profit. That is what the Sims 3 Store was born out of. It's the entire reason for SimCity's existence and failure.
But today's EA is not the EA that earned its bad reputation some years ago. The people in control of the publisher have been swapped out almost entirely since then (incidently, it was the SimCity disaster that finally caused this change in leadership).

I guess a rant too lol I have played for 15 years, I am going to buy whatever interests me and also mostly everything I can afford. I am in 100% agreement with you... It's weird because I was just "ranting" to my BF about how people are sooo nasty to the people , the game and company of EA..Then I came along your post

Just type in something like TS4 (any negative word) and you will see terrible videos on YouTube, or comments on forums. This has upset me in the passed and present because I used to play FB games such as the "Ville" games etc.. Too, many games I am sure. No, I did not purchase premium items for everything but, a few games I did. My boyfriend back in the day didn't understand why people would spend real money on "virtual" money. And, I always explained to him it was a hobby an interest and most people pay for entertainment, I do not ever really go out to the movies (haven't in years) I play Sims lol! The people that make games do not deserve to eat or cloth their children just like musicians I suppose.. My boyfriend is a musician and people think that years of experience and practice at their craft , lugging gear and entertaining people should be free.. I don't know what to say except people think everything should be free Do people think they shouldn't pay their contractor for fixing their roof or plumber when their pipes burst? I don't get where that mentality came from.

Now, it's been really bad lately with TS4 people complaining about the game and company themselves, and it makes me sad. It to me is just like people being very nasty to musical artists I enjoy on YouTube. For example someone calling Christina Aguilar -fat or nasty or really worse things sometimes.. I would be very hurt if I was that person and it feels like bulling in every instance to me.

I personally am glad they are giving us "soo many" options as you said.. It is definitely making the game much more enjoyable for me. I love Spa Day and OR I hope they make a lot of money as I do NOT want the series to go away any time soon!
Everyone has their own opinion..And, recently I have been blamed for not allowing people to disagree with us "fan-people" And, that was never my intention. I don't disrespect or "hate" on anyone who doesn't like stuff or doesn't agree with something I just want people to be nice and respectful. I think it is too easy now a days to hide behind their computer screens, and be bullies to everything and everyone. If someone has a different opinion I feel anyone should express that, I just wish people would remember their are humans on the other end of the forum, board, comments.

The thing is, this attitude doesn't just stop at EA or The Sims. It is an attitude that many have in different areas. Someone doesn't like a restaurant's food, they trash them on Yelp. I've even seen people destroy family's lives because they don't like the way someone had an opposing opinion. This is an attitude that the human race has developed and that the internet emphasizes because everyone wants to feel heard. They want to express themselves, and the internet is the easiest medium to do so.

The internet is a wonderful thing. It helps long distance relatives and friends keep contact and share details about their lives. It mends bridges that have been burnt and helps individuals find passion and careers conveniently. But it is misused. Instead of learning how to give constructive feedback and maintain a neutral standpoint, our generations have grown into an emotionally driven entitlement. And it's saddening.

Not everyone, of course, is like this. But I truly believe it is deep-seated psychological occurrences that has a lot to do with parenting and the disconnection of interpersonal real life interactions. As for dealing with the rants and negativity that surrounds the gaming community, I just smile (sometimes even if I don't want to) and remind them that EA/Maxis are just humans that are doing their jobs.

I think the thing that breaks my heart is an article I read...

"Elaine and several of the other players I spoke to described the Gurus as dismissive or even hostile. It’s hard to accept that characterization, however." (source)

Click to expand...

The Gurus have never been hostile, from my knowledge. And yet, people are not happy and, therefore, put all their anger on people, put them down, call their work crap, and spread rumors. The Gurus play around on twitter and joke, they tease us with upcoming content, they share our love of the game, and they do their jobs.

It really does make you sad when you read stuff like that. Because it just shows how many people don't care to think before saying something. When they call the Gurus dismissive or rude, they talk about situations in which the community doesn't get certain answers it would like to have or when questions are answered with a hasty yes or no.
What some people don't dare to think about are the reasons behind this stuff. That they are legally bound not to answer questions about anything that is not announced yet. That they could loose their jobs for answering certain questions ahead of time. And most importantly: That chatting to us is not their job!
The Gurus are not paid to go on Twitter or forums and talk to us. They are paid to create games. So they take their time off of work, evenings they could spend with their families or friends, to keep this us as satisfied as they can. And then they are called names, titled lazy or rude. Their work, their dedication and generally their attempts at communicating with one of the most diverse, and quite frankly one of the most entitled and unappreciative, communities in gaming are treated like they are worth nothing and as if we deserve even better than what we've got, when it only needs one look at most other development studios to notice how much information we Simmers actually get and how much influence on the game we have.

One of the Gurus once said, developing a Sims title is harder than developing most other games and the community burned him to the ground for that. But few people actually took the time to think and realize that he was not talking about the game, but about who this game has to reach and who it has to satisfy.
Battlefield? Simple! FPS-gamers between 20 and 30.
An RPG? Put in a nice story and some hearty combat that makes people between 14 and 40 happy and you're golden.
A Mario Title? Just take that game from 20 years ago, put it into our newest Graphics Engine and it'g gonne be fine!

Now don't get me wrong, developing a game and pleasing an audience is always hard, but take a look at our community!
Sims players reach from as young as 6 all the way up to 50 and 60 years of age and older.
Sims players are casual gamers, but also experienced gamers and some of us are hardcore gamers.
Some Simmers own NASA PCs with the most expensive hardware. Others use computers that were considered old 10 years ago.
Some Simmers can buy every piece of content that is released, others just expansions, others just the base game, etc.
Many of us are parents, others are children, others students.
There are Simmers who only build. There are Simmers who only play. There are Simmers who only take Screenshots. There are Simmers who only create stories and share them. There are Simmers who only create custom content or mods. There are Simmers who are every possible combination of these things.
Some of us prefer a closed world, others an open world.
Some of us like occult life states. Others can't stand them.
Many Sims players are nice, understanding individuals. Many are harsh but realistic critics. And others are incredibly demanding.
Some Simmers play once and then don't touch the game for months. And some Simmers get their daily enjoyment out of this game.
BUT most importantly, Sims is not just a game that you develop, release, fix and them pump out DLC for a few months until you move on. For its developers, Sims is a life. They have to release new content for the next five years, knowing that at some point they will also have to start working on the next game and while doing all this they are also constantly working on patches that fix issues and deliver new free content.

Now, maybe I am just suffereing from severe brain damage, but does that sound like an easy job to you? If so, please, go out there and create your own life simulator that smashes the Sims series into the ground, cause god knows, you would probably actually make the developer's lives easier when they can move on to a different project.
There is a reason why Maxis has no competition in the life Simulation genre! And that's not because other developers are afraid of EA's lawyers. EA owns the Sims, not the genre. It's because every developer out there is afraid of this genre, the massive amount of work connected to it and us, the community that is attracted by it!

I appreciate the developers for this. Of course I have many wishes and many issues with Sims 4. It was the same for Sims 3 and hell, even Sims 2. But I realize I am not the only person playing this game. That there are many people who are just as passionate about the Sims but have completely different opinions and preferences. These developers work their asses off to find the best compromises between all the very different people in this community. That does not mean you have to like their decisions. It doesn't mean you have to like their games. It doesn't mean you have to like them.
But you should respect that this is what they are doing and that they deserve a hell of a lot respect for doing it! I just wish more people would let them know just that. But sadly, this positive voice is very quiet, as most people either remain neutral and silent about their appreciation or treat them like dogs who are too stupid to fetch a stick. This level of disrespect is absolutely tasteless and there have been times during Sims 4's, but also Sims 3's development, when this kind of attitude made me incredibly sick.
One can only hope that the developers can hear that quiet little voice despite all the howling wolfs trying to drown it out.

Ugh, sorry for such a long post and for getting so melodramatic towards the end there. But there are few things that I find worse than someone's work being underappreciated.

I think that they are doing a great thing!
I love that there is so much new stuff coming regularly! They have really listened to the community (besides toddlers so far) and given us what we really have wanted! And I am really excited for what's to come, and what's going to be at Gamescon!
It makes me sad to see the mean things people tweet at the Gurus!

I do my best to avoid all comment sections on "news" articles or game reviews on the sims. Especially, ESPECIALLY, the official forums. Can't stand that place. The hatred and bullying that was going on during the sims 4s news dry spell made me so mad. People just don't think and refuse to understand. They sure as heck don't have a sense of humor, that's for sure. They take gurus little teases or jokes as insults.

That's why I like this site and the simscommunity site. The people are more positive, even if they don't care for the sims 4.

I like the way sims 4's content is handled. The game literally gets better by the month, dlc purchases or not.

At the end of the day, if those people want to work themselves up and hate the game, let em. The sims 4 shows no signs of stopping, as shown by the good revenue stream and the #2 most played origin game. Bet that makes them mad to see the game flourish! Im in a better state than them because I'm enjoying the game and happy while they're working themselves up and just showing their true mean selves.

The only thing that bothers me is that there are too many simmers who really cant think for themselves though. The reason i didn't like the store is because they ridiculously overpriced everything. I definitely agree that it's nice having extra content available like that but honestly sims fans don't think about what it's actually worth and they were able to get away with grossly overcharging for everything on sims 3 store just because in reality, Sims players buy it for their collection not based on the content or the amount of effort the creators put into it. And quite frankly they didn't put much effort into most things they sold on the Sims 3 store. They all lacked gameplay, animations, and sometimes didn't even look very realistic either.

If we really did get what we paid for it would be totally okay. But the reality is that wayyy too many sims fans pay full price for everything and it's not even because they need or want it in their game. That bothers me because as long as people keep buying $10 packs that actually have only about $5 worth of work put into them they will keep doing the half-ass work and keep selling it for full price.

I could honestly use anything from the sims 3 store as an example but just for one that personally bothered me, i'll say Midnight Hollow. That was $20 or $40 i can't remember. I was hyped for it. Seriously soooo excited because they said businesses were coming back. Something i waited for throughout all of Sims 3 and not only were they coming back but in a very cute town that i personally loved the style of. AND the toy machine (or some variation of it) returning from sims 2?! So yeah you can imagine my disappointment upon realizing that the "store" content was a complete joke. Useless for it's purpose and very poorly incorporated in with the game. I had alot of hope that the toy machine would be like the Sims 2 freetime stuff and it was just a letdown. I would've wanted my money back entirely if it weren't for the fact that like i said i did love the town and the cas content. But i definitely would have waited and bought it on sale because the gameplay content in it was terrible. And that's what bothers me.

They are able to get away with completely ruining the Open For Business thing from Sims 2 but still charge as much for it. And people won't decide whether they want it or not. They will get it. Because it's sims and they want to have it all for their collection. That being said you're right, we can't blame them for making money where they can and giving the customers what they want. But here's hoping they actually DO THAT instead of just giving us a dumbed down version of the gameplay we want. If they put the effort into it then i'd be glad to pay the money for it. But please no more of Midnight Hollows "Retail systems". Or the massage tables that don't even come with a masseuse so you have to have a random sim do it but it still costs $10 for some reason. I love the Sims 4 and i sincerely hope that when we do see the sims 4 store (because i'm almost positive we will) they put the attention and effort into it that it deserves and take the time to incorporate the items into the game correctly this time.

But yes, on the other hand no matter how much certain things bother me it is not fair to say some of the things people are saying on other sites. It really is disgusting. i always avoid glancing at comments on Sims 4 things because for some reason the haters for it are just straight up nasty and nothing they say is based in reality. Alot of them really don't seem to grasp the way the sims games work. I hate the people that say they're greedy because we should have everything in the base game. Like have you ever even played Sims before? lol the base game can't have weather, pets, toddlers, emotions, multitasking, and the build mode tools you want all at once. It's a recipe for disaster lol they already do alot better with sticking to a few new things per pack. They're human. They can't work on all that at once. People should just be grateful for what Sims 4 does bring to the series that's new and fun.

Anyway sorry for ranting too I just know exactly how you feel. Those comments online get me really worked up sometimes though i know they shouldn't haha that's why i try to avoid them.